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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Grandma's Spanish Tortilla

If you knew my Grandma Genevieve you probably had her Spanish Tortilla. I remember whenever we had a family get together she would bring it and it would be devoured by all. I can remember her making it when I was young and if she didn't have ham (which I think was in the original recipe) she would cut up a couple of hot dogs and throw them in. This is a very forgiving recipe and I have modified it over the years. I have been making this recipe since I can remember and have converted it to a breakfast or brunch item and serve it hot. It is still wonderful cold or at room temperature, which is how I always remember it being served.

In a large bowl beat the eggs and 1/2 & 1/2 until completely incorporated. Add the garlic, onion powder, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper and mix well. Set aside.

Heat oil in a 10" skillet or a 10" Frittata pan (the deep side) on med-hi.

Peel and halve the potato then slice the potato into 1/8" slices then halve each piece again. Dice the beef sausage into 1/4" pieces and place the potatoes and sausage into the skillet and cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are mostly soft and the sausage is starting to brown.

Remove the pan from the stove and pour the potatoes and sausage into the egg mixture then transfer the whole thing right back to the pan. (Don't ask me why that's just the way Grandma used to do it and if it ain't broke don't go fixin it.) Reduce the heat to medium.

Once the Tortilla is in the pan start going around the sides with a rubber spatula and gently pull the egg mixture away from the sides so more liquid pours under the cooked part. This is so that the egg mixture cooks faster than if you had to wait for it to cook from the outside in.Tilt the pan a little while doing this step.

When the Tortilla is almost all the way set in the middle and there isn't too much runny egg on top; about 7 - 10 minutes into cooking, heat the top of the Frittata pan set on med-hi, or get a larger than 10" plate to do the flipping with. When the second pan is hot, about 1 minute, place the second pan on top and lock it in, If using a plate, place it on top of the pan and get two hot pads for flipping.

Close the pan set and OVER THE SINK, flip the Tortilla over. If using a plate, OVER THE SINK AND VERY CAREFULLY so that the plate doesn't slip, and sorta fast, holding the plate on top of the pan tightly with two hot pads flip the whole thing over onto the plate; watching out for where the handle will end up.

If using a plate, slide the Tortilla back into the same pan pushing gently with a rubber spatula as you go so all the loose potatoes and sausage end up underneath. Go around the Tortilla with the spatula and push the sides in and under so it smooths out the edges.

Cook another 7 minutes on low to med-low. Remove to a plate and serve with salsa, sour cream, avocado, etc.

Hi Michelle! Next time when you make any egg dishes special like this type, always add in some cornflour ( 1/2 to 1 teasp depends how many eggs you use ) into the water or milk before adding it to the egg !! Your egg will be more flexible and will not break easily special if you fry egg omelet !! I got this tip from the Taiwan chefs !! Your Tortilla is great, I will keep some of the egg mixture to add into the frying pan after I turn it over so that both sides are well coated with egg !! Will it work, hope so !! Thanks for sharing the great recipes in your blog !!